The New Recruit
by Riddlestyx
Summary: After defeating Naraku, Kagome is forced back to her own time. Four years later, Kagome runs into an old acquaintance of hers from Feudal Japan, Jason Blood, who has an idea for her to use her abilities to help people. Rated T for hanyou-mouth.
1. Beautiful Nightmare

Hi! This is my first fic, so if it sucks, sorry, I'm doing my best here. Read and review, I'm open to ideas and opinions. I own neither Inuyasha nor Justice League; all rights go to the original owners. Please enjoy!

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

Kagome was dreaming. Or, rather, she was having a nightmare.

This nightmare should have taken place as a time of triumph, not one of misery and anguish. Kagome knew what was going to happen; she was just an actor in a well practiced play.

The stage was set outside of Edo, by the Goshinboku and the well. The group was battling Naraku, and the battle was in their favor. There was Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Kagome in front of Naraku. Sesshomaru and AhUn were to the left. Kouga, Ginta and Hakkaku were to the right. And right behind Naraku was Kanna, Kohaku, and Kagura. Kirara, Jaken, Shippo, Hachi and Ayame were protecting Edo with Kaede from the swarm of poisonous insects that the cowardly hanyou had sent to distract his opponents.

"**Now!" **Kagome screamed.

All at once, they attacked; Sesshomaru with Bakusaiga, Kagura with her wind, AhUn with his youki and Kohaku with his scythe. Ginta and Hakkaku stand back while Kouga attacks with the Goraishi. Inuyasha attacked with the Wind Scar, Sango with the Hiraikotsu, Miroku with sutras and Kagome with her sacred arrow.

Naraku was in pieces and the tainted Shikon no Tama was visible. Naraku blood showered the warriors like rain, and Kagome ran through it, towards the Sacred Jewel.

Catching it in her hand, Kagome turned towards where Naraku's head had fallen. His eyes were furious and full of malice as he stared at her.

"**You have not seen the last of me, Miko. I'll be back." Naraku hissed.**

"**No. This is the end, Naraku. And you aren't **Arnold Schwarzenegger**, so don't say things like that." **Kagome said, smiling. She released her reiki, glowing pale pink with her happiness, destroying Naraku's remains, washing away his blood, and, unintentionally, purifying the Sacred Jewel.

In no time at all, the children, Kaede, the villagers, Ayame, Kirara, Hachi, and Jaken ran into the clearing cheering wildly. Ayame launched herself at Kouga, knocking him to the ground and kissing him fiercely. Sango and Miroku were doing exactly the same thing, although this time when Miroku groped her, she did not push him away. The most shocking thing, however, was when Kagura ran to Sesshomaru and kissed him passionately on the lips, which he returned.

"**Wench, release my master, Sesshomaru-Sama!" **Jaken screeched in outrage. He continued saying things like that for the next 10 seconds or so, until Kohaku "accidentally" kicked him out of the clearing and into a tree.

When everyone had finally calmed down, Inuyasha yelled for Kagome to come forward.

"**You know what to do Kagome." **Inuyasha said, smiling widely at his friend.

Kagome nodded, turning her gaze to the once again pink marble in her hand.

"**Shikon no Tama. Disappear. Forever." **Kagome whispered softly to the jewel.

The Shikon rose into the air, hovering above their heads, glowed brighter than before, and in a flash of light disappeared.

Kagome smiled at the sight, though she suddenly felt a stabbing pain under her ribs, but it was gone as soon as it came. But a burst of blue light filled the clearing. Kagome turned towards the source, the dry well. A beam of blue light shot up into the sky from the well. The light receded back into the well, and half a dozen glowing arms emerged and grabbed Kagome, pulling her back into the well.

"**NO! KAGOME!"** Inuyasha screamed, grabbing at her hand**, **cutting her skin with his claws.

But to no avail, for she fell for what seemed like forever down the well. Kagome could hear Shippo wailing for her, his mother, the villagers calling for Kagome-Sama, and her friends calling after her, varying degrees of fear and anguish in their voices.

And finally, Kagome landed back in her bed, sat up straight, and began to sob into her blanket.

* * *

What did you think? Again, I am open to opinions.


	2. 7 Years and 50 Days

Hi! This is Riddlestyx again, and it seems that I have finally figured out how to update my stories (yay!). Read, review, and most importantly, enjoy! All rights go to the original owners.

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

"**Grandma**!" sang out a happy voice.

Kagome turned to the voice and was greeted by the welcome sight of her granddaughter, Riku. Riku was Shippo and Rin's younger daughter, and she was perfect blend of them, with her father's sparkling green eyes and her mother's black hair (although Rin's hair was not nearly as straight). She was also wearing her cute school uniform, which Kagome had always envied, because when she had been in middle school, it had been that ugly sailor looking thing, but after she had gone to high school, some sort of sexual harassment thing had made the school change the girl's uniform. Now, it had a black skirt that reached her knees, and a 3/4 length sleeved blouse and a black tie.

**"Hi Riku, where's Souta?" **Kagome asked, because the two usually came home together.

**"He went to the park to play soccer with some friends."**Riku said breezily. At 15, Riku stood at a small 5 feet in height with a consistent weight of 100 pounds, and absolutely no chest whatsoever. **"How have things been here today?"** She added, glancing around at the deserted shrine.

**"Pretty good actually, there was a field trip and they bought a lot of souvenirs, but I don't think any of them listened to a thing I said." **Kagome said, smiling. The only real attention she had gotten was from the male teacher, who had been fixated on her chest, and while the kids bought their souvenirs from her mom, he had made pathetic passes at her. It had been almost painful to watch, according to her grandfather, if it hadn't been so hilarious.

**"I recognize that look. Let me guess, the teacher tried to hit on you?"**

**"Yes, he certainly did. It was quite amusing."** came her grandfather's reedy voice, hobbling out of the gift shop.** "Now come give your great-great grandfather a hug."**

**"Yes grandfather."**Riku giggled, wrapping her arms around the frail seventy year old. Riku was one of the few people who truly enjoyed listening to his tales.

**"We are not likely to get anymore visitors today, why don't you drop your illusion, dear?"**suggested Hana Higurashi, Kagome's mother.

**"Okay." **A blue flash lit up the shrine and was accompanied by a small pop. When the light disappeared, Riku stood there, but now her demonic heritage showed. Fox ears adorned her head, her teeth were now fangs, her fingernails were claws, and most noticeably, a three foot long fox tail.

"Grandpa, don't you have a doctor's appointment today?" Kagome asked her grandfather.

"Yes, actually, we need to leave now to make it in time. Come on Dad, we need to get your jacket." said Hana. "Caould you two close up the shrine? We probably won't get anymore visitors today." Hana her grumbling father off to the house.

"Grandma, do you want me to make some tea? Or I could sweep up out here?" suggested Riku.

"Could you sweep? I'll make us some tea, just listen carefully, we may still get some visitors, and it may be hard to explain away your tail." Kagome warned.

Kagome moved back into the house, still wearing her miko robes. It had been just over 7 years since her life had changed, since she had fallen down the well. But she remembered every moment of it, for the next three years.

She had first met Riku four years ago. she had been 18, and Riku had been 11. Upon destoying the Jewel, she had nothing to tie her to the past, and she had been dragged back to her own era. She had been knocked out, and when she had woken, there was a hand reaching down for her. It had been Shippo's, he was not a kit anymore, he was a full gown youkai. Sesshomaru and Kouga had been there as well, and standing in the doorway to the well house were her family and a little fox hanyou. Her reaction started with shock, followed by happiness at seeing her old friends and her son, sadness at knowing that her human friends were dead, and then despair when she learned who would not come to see her. Inuyasha.

She had asked them if Inuyasha would come as well. The had all gotten sad looks and Shippo had taken her outside to the Goshinboku and he told her what had happened. A few days after she had been taken from the past, Inuyasha had gone back to the well to try and reach the future. When Inuyasha had not returned Shippo had gone to get him. But he found the grass was stained red, Inuyasha lay dead on the grass, mauled by hundreds of minor demons. And the tetsaiga had been stolen by his murderers.

Kagome remained catatonic for nearly a week. She hadn't eaten or slept, she had just cried. Riku had pulled her out of it. She had come into her bedroom and told her what had happened to everyone else. Firstly, she had explained how a spell had been discovered several years later, one that allowed youkai to take human mates, and gave the human a youkai's life span.

Kagura and Sesshomaru married and now had three son's; Akio, Hiro and Akatsuki. Sesshomaru Taisho was a now the owner of a multibillion dollar company and had his hands in a lot of pies; art, defense, medicine, security, etc. Kagura played the socialite and model.

Koga and the wolves were all part of Taisho Corp., and contributed to the defense department. Koga and Ayame had one son, Morio, who was two years older than Riku. Ginta had a brood of children who were spread out all over the world, but his son Norio was the same age as Riku and the youngest of his children. Hakkaku had three daughters who Kagome had met briefly, and his youngest daughter Kairi, who was a year older than Riku.

Rin and Shippo were married and now had four children; Hiromi, Akira, Riku, and their youngest child, Mitsue. Shippo was a famous artist, and had based a whole book of his art upon their adventures and battles aqainst Naraku. Rin worked as a model every now and then, but she usually helped around the shrine or the company.

Kanna and Kohaku had bonded through their struggles against Naraku, and years later married, and now had a daughter named Nao, who was three years younger than Riku. Kanna was a sculptor now, and she made beautiful glass figurines. Kohaku, strangely enough, had become Sesshomaru's personal assistant.

Riku had continued to tell her stories about her life and those around her, until Kagome had finally gotten out of bed.

Now, here she was, 4 years later, telling her stories over and over to tourists and students, as if that were all they were, stories.

**"Grandma! Grandma!"**Riku's cries brought Kagome out of her reminiscing. Riku ran into the house, looking startled and babbling. **"I swear I hadn't noticed him! I mean, his aura is completely hidden-!"**

**"Riku, calm down! What are you talking about?" **Kagome interrupted, grabbing Riku shoulders, noticing that Riku's illusion was still off. _She must be telling the truth about his aura, because she would have replaced her illusion if she had sensed that someone had come inside the shrine._

**"There's this man outside, he looks Western. He was watching me, I didn't notice hm until he stepped on a dead leaf! He _saw _me!" **Riku whispered, looking horrified.

**"Stay here, I'll go see if he's still there."** Kagome said gently, sending some calming energy into the frightened hanyou, who bobbed her head in agreement.

Kagome walked outside and she saw a man standing in front of the Goshinboku, gazing up at it's branches, as if he were hoping to see someone. Kagome could not see his face, but he had red hair, and he was wearing a brown jacket. Kagome heard him sigh, and he turned, allowing her to see his face, a face she was familiar with. He also saw her and a mixture of emotions flashed through his dark eyes; surprise , recognition, disappointment, and ending in curiosity. He smiled politely at her and she smiled warmly back at him, proceeding to walk towards him. She came to a stop in front of him and shocked him with the next thing she said.

"Hello Jason."

* * *

Whew! That took me a little while. I hope you enjoyed it.


	3. Gomenasai

Hey people! I have only one thing to say, and that is that you are going to be seeing a lot of Riku in this story, because my friend, Red Dragon and I had a lot of fun creating her, and she is more than a little weird. I own neither Justice League, Inyasha or the song names I am using for my chapters. Read, enjoy and review!

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

"K-Kagome?" Jason gasped, gazing at the woman in front of him.

"Hai, Jason, it's me." Kagome said, smiling at him.

"How?"

"Jason, don't you remember how you never saw me return to my home? How the others would always come and distract you with something whenever Inuyasha and I left?"

Kagome had met Jason Blood when she was 17, and he had traveled with them for 9 months. He had believed that his enemy, Morgan le Fay had been in Japan, and was involved with the bloodshed occurring during Naraku's reign of terror. He had been incorrect, but since that had been his only lead to the immortal sorceress' whereabouts, he had stayed to help against Naraku. He had gotten to know many of the youkai and humans in who fought against Naraku, but when he received news of Morgan and Mordred, he had to leave. He had never known about Kagome's true origins, because Miroku had heard of the European's superstitions about such things, but they had known of Etrigan.

"I suppose you need a better explanation?" Kagome asked Jason gently. He nodded, wide-eyed. She took his had and led him to the Well House.

"The Bone Eater's Well?" Jason asked.

"When I turned 15, a monster dragged me down, and when I climbed out of the Well, I was in Feudal Japan, and I had the Shikon Jewel In my body."

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Jason said sternly.

* * *

About an hour later, Jason and Kagome sat on the stairs, staring down at the Well.

"That is one hell of a story Kagome." Jason said bluntly.

"Gomenasai." Kagome whispered, her eyes hidden beneath her bangs.

"What?" Jason said, startled.

"All those months we traveled together, none of us ever told you the truth about me. We knew all about you, but we never told you about my secret." Kagome breathed. If she tried to say anything any louder, she knew he would hear the tears in her voice.

"Kagome, look at me." Jason said sharply. When she would not he forced her chin up so she could see his face. "I'm not angry with you. You're right, I probably should be angry with you, but I'm not. That time with you and the others helped me later, encouraged me to do more with my curse, to use it to help people."

Kagome looked up at him in confusion. What on earth was he talking about?

"You said your granddaughter was inside? Why don't we join her for some tea?" Jason said, smiling warmly down at her.

Riku had fallen asleep at the table while they had been in the Well House. Her tea had spilled all over the table. Kagome smilled and shook Riku's shoulder gently. Riku shot up, a red mark on her face from where it had been pressed aganist the table.

"Who-wha-?" Riku rasped, her head turning from side to side. She finally focused on Jason and Kagome, and the fact that Kagome was no longer concerned. "I take you two know each other?"

"Yes Riku, this is Jason Blood, he is an old friend and ally of ours. Jason, this is Shippo and Rin's daughter, Riku." Kagome introduced the two.

"It is lovely to meet you Riku." said Jason politely. He had only met Rin a few times, but he had thought she was a sweet young girl and he had been rather fond of Shippo, so he had to admit he was glad to meet their daughter.

"Back atcha Blood-san." Riku said, bowing to him. She remembered the stories of when the immortal human had traveled with her father and grandmother. She glanced at the clock and blanched. "Oh, kuso! I gotta get home before dad calls the cops or something! Sayonara, Oba-chan, Blood-san." Riku grabbed her bag, replaced her illusion and ran out of the house.

"Well, she seems very interesting." Jason commented.

"You have no idea." Kagome said dryly.

They spent the next hour reminiscing about old times, and Jason told her about how he had fallen in with superheroes, much to Kagome surprise, such as Batman and the rest of the Justice League. He now used his curse to help people, because of Mordred breaking his mother's spell, which granted him eternal youth, and now all he had was eternal life (despite Mordred's horrid fate, Kagome was still reduced to tears of mirth at the story).

Kagome told him what happened with Naraku, and this time she shed tears of sadness. When she had come back, she had been unable to get into college, even though Sesshomaru had offered to help her. Now, she spent her days at the shrine, day after day, week after week, month after month, telling them the edited story of the battles for the Shikon no Tama. When she was done, Kagome realized how pathetic her story was compared to Jason's. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to be out saving people, helping them, the way Jason and all the other superheroes did.

"Kagome, is that really all you want to do with your life?" Jason asked, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What?" Kagome asked, surprised at his question.

"Kagome, you have done just as much as any member of the League! In fact, you may have more experience than other members." Jason said, look more an more excited.

"Jason, are you honestly suggesting-?" Kagome began uncertainly.

"Why not? Do you still remember how to fight? Use your powers in combat? Your archery?"

"Yes, Jason, I can! But...Kami! Have you gone mad in your old age?" Kagome shrieked.

"Trust me Kagome, I have not gone mad. I am being perfectly serious. You could be a great asset to the Justice League. Think about it, you would be able to help people as you had before."

"Jason, I don't want to be some superhero showboat, I want to genuinely help people."

"And you can, you don't have to do anything with the media, you can leave that up to Booster Gold." Jason joked. Kagome smiled, she had seen the egotistical hero on television, and he always came off as an ass.

"And Jason, I don't want to use my powers like that, because aside from the clan, most youkai don't believe that there are any mikos left. And a lot of youkai hold grudges, if not against me in particular, against mikos in general. If they heard about a superhero with holy powers, they'll come for me, and people could get hurt. And I don't want all those big-shots knowing the truth, I'm not looking for a pity party."

Jason considered this. She had a point, he himself had believed that all the miko's had been wiped out. And God knew that the League came under enough fire for having magic users in their ranks. He could understand her need to prove her worth without telling everyone her story.

"Then you don't have to use them. There are a lot of members who dont have any powers and rely upon their intelligence and fighting skills to help people. You could fight and use your arrows."

Kagome was shocked. _This...could actually work, I could be a superhero! Me, a superhero, it's strange just thinking about it._

"Jason, I think this is a crazy idea...But I think I'll give it a shot."

Jason grinned. "There are some arrangements that have to be made."

"Like what?"

"This is just a suggestion, but you could move to one of the cities where Sesshomaru-sama has a company building in America. The Tower has teleporters, but it's easier if they're closer. I'll have to talk to the League, see if they'll accept you. It's up to the original 7 as to whether you're accepted, but I'm sure that you'll have at least one vote, Wonder Woman would approve of a woman like you. Flash probably will to, he's the youngest of them, he's pretty idealistic. Superman is the same, but he's more reserved. The other four, I can't be sure of, although Batman will probably want to test you for how well you fight."

"Is that all?" Kagome asked, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"You'll also need a disguise and an alter ego name." Jason said smiling at the poor woman.

"I've seen what some of those women wear on television, but I could use tajiya armor, and I could add a mask to hide my face. As for a name...I will call myself Miko."

"I thought you didn't want to be thought of as a miko?" asked Jason in confusion.

"I don't want them to know that I'm a real miko, and it's just a name." Kagome pointed out.

"Then we need to get started."

* * *

And there you are people, Kagome is going to be a superhero! I hope you don't hate me for making her hide her powers but it seemed like a good idea when I was coming up with this story.

P.s. the chapter names might not always make sense and it will either go with lyrics or with the name.


	4. Hero

Hi! This is Riddlestyx, and all I need to say is thank you for the reviews and sorry about all the spelling mistakes. I own nothing. Oh, and whenever I say Flash is running, I mean with super speed.

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

"Hey guys, whats the meeting about?" Flash asked, running into the room.

"Jason Blood wanted to meet with us, something about a new recruit for the League." Shayera explained, glancing over at Batman. Batman raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "What?"

"You know this guy?" Shayera asked.

"No." Batman replied.

"O-kay then, do you know anything about this guy? Like a name?" Flash pestered.

Batman internally sighed. "I don't know anything about this person, not even their gender."

"Hopefully Jason will be able to clear that bit up when he gets here." Superman said, looking slightly amused.

"I don't know about this. Can we really risk having some rookie in the field? It might put the others at risk." Green Lantern pointed out skeptically. "All of the other League members had experience when we recruited them."

"Wow, GL, what would we do without your optimism?" Flash asked sarcastically.

There was a light knock on the door frame. The members looked over to see the normally serious Englishman looking strangely excited.

"You're all here, then?" Jason asked before glancing around the room at the members. "Good, then I can get to the point. I was in Japan, and I bumped into an old friend of mine and I suggested that she join the Justice League."

"That's it? You just tell her she should join the League?" Flash asked in disbelief.

"Actually I worked my way up to it, and when I asked her she thought I had gone mad in my 'old age'. I asked her because she's had experience in saving people, working on teams and fighting." Jason explained.

"Would we have heard of her?" Batman asked.

"No, you would not have. She's been out of action for 4 years, because most of her team is dead." Jason said sadly. He wasn't technically lying, because her 'team' _was _dead.

"How old is she?" asked Superman carefully. For all they knew this woman could be an immortal, possibly an old girlfriend of Jason's.

Jason seemed able to guess what Superman was thinking. "She's in her early twenties, I met her when she was a teenager."

"Does she have any powers? Magic or meta human?" J'onn asked.

J'onn did not usually read minds unless needed, but he could always sense lies. Jason nearly wept with relief.

"No, she does not. She is skilled in martial arts and archery, and she can keep calm in stressful situations." Jason answered truthfully. _Thank God they have never heard of holy powers. _"Also, I would advise you not to ask her about her past with her old team. When she learned about their deaths, she was catatonic for a week. If it had not been for her relative, she would probably not have survived. She spent most of her time as a teenager saving lives with her team, she was as close to them as she was to her family. Also, their original goal was completed shortly before their deaths, so she felt no reason to continue."

About 30 minutes later, the 7 founding members were arguing about whether or not to recruit the woman.

"Why don't we? It's not like we couldn't use help from new heroes." Flash insisted.

"Well, if what Jason said is true, she's hardly new to the hero business." Shayera pointed out.

"She must have truly enjoyed helping others, if she spent her childhood saving others." Diana commented.

"Or she was just looking for some attention, and she thought playing hero was a fun thing to do, and she got in way too deep and her buddies paid for it with their lives." Green Lantern said stubbornly.

"It may have been out of necessity, not thrill seeking, that she helped others." J'onn pointed out. "Many heros have been born out of necessity, even though they had no intention of becoming superheroes. Gear was created that way, as was Steel, even me."

"We also don't know the circumstances of her teammates deaths. It may have been beyond her control." Superman added. He had to admit, this young woman sounded very brave, after losing her friends, she was still willing to help others, to be a hero. _If I lost the others, I don't think I could continue to be Superman._

"If she's been out of action for 4 years, I plan to run her through a training simulation, to assess her skills." Batman said. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Wait...you _want _her to join?" Flash asked slowly.

"Yes."

"Hey, did Jason even tell us what her name was?"

There was a awkward pause. J'onn's eyes glowed for a few moments.

_Jason?_J'onn mentally asked the immortal.

_Yes? _Jason thought back. He was anxious about their decision.

_What was your friend's name?_

J'onn received an image of a young woman with long black hair and with beautiful, gentle brown eyes that seemed to be full of love and innocence. She was dressed in a dark blue sweater and an extremely short, light blue skirt. This image was replaced by another. This time she was older, and dressed in a white haori and red hakamas. Her hair was longer now, almost to her hips. The innocence from before was gone, replaced by sadness.

_Miko_.

"She goes by the name of Miko." J'onn announced.

"All in favor of recruiting Miko?" Superman asked.

Six hands went into the air. John's hand stayed down.

"Majority rules." Flash said, grinning. "So, when do we meet the new girl?"

"Saturday." J'onn answered. When stared at, he shrugged. "I asked Jason. He's left to contact her about our decision. Hopefully she'll be able to come though, according to Jason, her family may not allow it, they treat her like glass."

"Why?"

"They are concerned for her emotional well-fare. They may worry that she'll be broken again like she was before."

"She's going to need tougher skin if she's going to last in this business." John grumbled, still annoyed that they were getting another rookie. _She better not be some media hog hero. _

_She's not. _J'onn intruded. _She was reluctant to go along with Jason's idea for that very reason._

_Well, there's a relief._

_

* * *

_Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Kagome was fighting her worst battle yet...against the men of her clan.

**"Kagome, it's too dangerous!"** Koga yelled, with Ginta and Hakkaku shouting agreements.

**"Kagome, you could be hurt."** Kohaku pleaded.

"**Enough."** Sesshomaru commanded. **"It is the miko's decision, not our's."**

**"Besides,"** Shippo added, **"it would be a good way to get Riku out of the city."**

The men fell silent, and Kagome was left confused. Shippo sighed.

**"Riku came home from school yesterday, covered in bruises on her arms, legs and ribs. Youkai children have been bullying her."** Shippo said miserably.** "It's been going on for years and I never knew."**

Kagome felt rage course through her body, that anyone, youkai or not, _dared _to hurt _her _granddaughter, _her _Riku. Shippo placed a gentle hand on his mother's shoulder before continuing.

**"If you took Riku with you to America, she could make arrows for you and repair your armor, and do anything else. It'll keep her happy with a job."**

Kagome was stunned. Riku had learned from Kohaku how to make weapons out of youkai remains, and had shown skill in it. One of the things Sesshomaru and his company did, without the knowledge of human employees, was kill wild youkai. Kohaku made weapons from them in his spare time, and he was one of the few to do so, since Totosai had retired from making weapons, and instead made small trinkets, like necklaces in his spare time.

**"That could work, but how fast could I have what I need made?" **Kagome asked.

**"It should take maybe two days."** Kohaku said, smiling. **"While I'm doing that, you and Riku can start packing."**

**"I own some property in America, there is a mansion there that you could live in."** Sesshomaru informed them.

**"I don't know about this."** Koga grumbled.

**"Oh chill, Koga."** Shippo laughed. **"Damn, Mom, people are finally going to know that you're a hero!"**

**

* * *

**

Wow, that took me a while, and sorry about that but my computer's been acting screwy. Please review!


	5. Womanizer

Hey, sorry for not updating for a while, but my computer has been acting dumb. I own nothing, please enjoy.

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

"So, you're a superhero now?" Riku asked, watching in amusement as Miko paced across their new living room. They had been speaking English for the past few days, getting used to it. Sesshomaru had set them up in a nice big house with virtually no neighbors.

"I don't even know if they will accept me! I hope I do OK in an combat tests they give me, I've hardly done any fighting since I was a teenager." Kagome worried. She was wearing a suit similar to Sango's old one, only with gloves, an eye concealing mask and blue armor. Her hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail and it swung back and forth as she paced. A bow and a quiver full of arrows were strapped to her back.

"Relax, Oba-chan. You survived Sesshomaru Oji-sama's refresher course. Kami's know that he's a cruel, cold, sadistic, and sometimes evil son of a gun. You can totally handle anything those heroes dish out." Riku said consolingly. Riku would go with Miko to Metro Tower so the League would allow her access to the resources she needed to test out anything she made for Miko, be it arrows or armor.

"Hai, but Jason needs to get here first, I can't be late for this!" Kagome groaned. _Miko...the superhero that is always late. Great._Kagome thought. She turned back to Riku and stared. "Riku...why are you dressed like that?"

Riku was dressed in black pants, shoes and a white dress shirt with a black tie.

"Shouldn't I make a good impression?" Riku asked innocently. Truthfully, she was dressed this way because it was completely gender neutral. _Not that Oba-chan needs to know that._ She could just see all the confusion that would cause and how much fun it would be.

"But you don't wear glasses."

"Consider it a disguise."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Jason stood blinking on the porch for a few moments, wondering if he had gotten the wrong address. Standing in the doorway was a boy with bright green eyes and long black hair. _Green eyes and long black hair..._, Jason thought before he caught on.

"Riku?" he asked uncertainly.

"Hi Blood-san, thank kami you're here. Miko-sama's been spazzing out because she doesn't want to be late." Riku said cheerily.

"Jason! Where have you been?" Kagome demanded.

"Ka- er, Miko, you don't have to be there for another 5 minutes." Jason pointed out nervously. He knew how she could get when upset or angry.

"Oh. Um, gomenasai." Miko said, looking a little embarrassed.

"There's no point in waiting around though. I told Batman that someone was coming up with you, though I didn't expect Riku." Jason explained, although he wondered why she was there.

"I make Miko-sama's weapons and armor." Riku explained quickly. She couldn't wait to see Metro Tower.

"O-Oh, I see." Jason stuttered in surprise. "Well, I'll call them up." He pressed the comm link in his ear. "Batman, it's Jason Blood. I'm here with Miko and her, ah, assistant. Are you ready for us?"

After a moment, he nodded to the women, and everything melted away and Miko and Riku found themselves standing on some sort of platform. At the end of the platform were seven of Earth's greatest heroes. Both Miko and Riku had been trained to study those around them, and it was easy to read the League.

Miko found her attention immediately going to Flash. He was the shortest of them, and he had a mischievous smile that could rival any kitsune's. Riku thought his smile was nice and that he would be fun.

Next there was Hawk Girl. Her eyes looked tired and sad, but she put up a good front of strength with her shoulders back and her head held high. Riku and Miko immediately felt compassion for the Thanagarian.

Batman was like a tamer version of Sesshomaru, cold and emotionless. They were filled with immediate respect for him.

Wonder Woman oozed confidence, but Miko thought she looked like a yariman in her costume. Riku just thought she looked hot.

Superman was handsome and had kind of natural benevolence about him. Miko admired that and Riku thought he was going to get himself killed with his naivete.

J'onn had a peaceful aura around him, but he could be a most dangerous opponent called upon. The two liked him immediately.

Then there was Green Lantern. They both thought he looked like he had a pole up his ass.

"Who's the kid?" Green Lantern asked, frowning at Riku, who stared back in boredom.

"My name is Riku, I am responsible for Miko-sama's weapons and armor." Riku replied coolly. "I came here to see if I could test them up here, as I lack the resources needed."

The two stared each other down. Riku narrowed her eyes slightly and pushed her glasses up her nose. Green Lantern was forced to look away from her jade eyes. Miko silently prayed that Riku wouldn't break him before stepping between the two.

"Ohaiyo gozaimasu. I am Miko." Miko said politely, holding out her gloved hand which was immediately grabbed by Flash.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive, though I'm sure you've heard of me." he said with a huge grin.

_Well, he sure is cocky. Kami, I'm net even here 5 minutes and he's making a pass at me! He must think he's some kind of womanizer! _Miko thought in disbelief.

"Uh, nice to meet you." came Miko's nervous reply. "That's true, I have heard of you. Jason told me about all of you when he came up with this idea."

"And you couldn't wait to meet us, huh?" Flash joked. The other League members rolled their eyes.

"Actually, I'd thought he'd finally gone senile in his old age."

Flash grinned and draped an arm around her shoulders, much to Miko's discomfort. "You have no idea how old, Miko."

Miko blinked. "Are you referring to his being centuries old?" Miko asked in surprise.

Flash was startled. _She knows?_

"Flash, Miko and Riku are both aware of my age and history." Jason pointed out.

"And now that we've clarified that, are you through hitting on Miko-sama? Or do you need a few more minutes?" Riku asked irritably.

* * *

Yay! I finished it! Hope you liked it!


	6. Fighter

Hey guys! First thing I am going to do is answer some questions.

1. Yes, Riku will creep various League members out

2. Flash is the fastest being on Earth. Period.

Enjoy!

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

**

* * *

**

Everyone stared at Riku for a moment. Riku sighed, pushed her glasses up her nose and stared back.

"Is there some rule here that states that I am not allowed to talk? Or am I the only one here who thinks there are more important things to be done that don't involve watching Flash hitting on Miko-sama?" Riku pointed out logically. She turned to Flash and gave him an annoyed glare before walking to him and forcefully removing his arm from Miko's shoulders. Miko looked a bit relieved to have the speedster away from her.

"Miko, I want to see how you handle yourself one on one with Flash." Batman said curtly, after nodding in agreement to Riku's statement. "Depending on how you do after that I'll give you something of a personality test, to see how well you would work with the League."

Flash and Miko had both started at Batman's request for the two of them to fight.

_I'm supposed to fight the fastest man alive? I can fight larger and stronger opponents, but faster? I'll be easily beaten! _Miko thought fearfully._ This is too big an opportunity for me to fail!_

_I'm supposed to fight her? Jason said she knew martial arts, she probably has some way to kick my butt._ Flash thought nervously. _The others don't even take me seriously half the time, they treat me like a sidekick, and I had enough of that when I actually _was _a sidekick. If I get beaten by a newbie, I'll never live it down. Besides that, that Riku kid looks like he-she- _they _would break me if I hurt Miko. _

J'onn had given into temptation and read Flash's mind when he had seen the look on his face when told to fight Miko. He had to fight back a smirk when he heard the younger man's nervous thoughts about the outcome of the fight and anxiety about Riku and Miko.

He also noticed Flash's uncertainty about Riku's gender. J'onn glanced at Riku who was, he agreed with Flash, utterly androgynous. The teen's hair was longer than most males. Clothes and body type both unisex. Voice too deep for a female and too high for a male. No make up.

J'onn also attempted to read Miko's mind to see how she was reacting, but was stunned by what he found. Nothing. He found in the young woman's mind what seemed to be a large blue bubble surrounding her thoughts, although he caught the word _barrier_, keeping intruders out. The Martian sensed anxiety in her, but nothing more.

He tried to read Riku's mind and had to stop himself from reeling back in fear. While Miko's shield had been like a frozen bubble, the teenager's was a ball of blue fire. Riku's emotions were wild and varying. Amusement at Flash's antics, protectiveness of Miko, curiosity of the League, anger at some injustice against her, excitement at the events currently unfolding.

_Batman, I cannot read their minds. _J'onn sent to the Dark Knight, along with images of Miko and Riku.

_I'll ask them later about that._ Batman replied before saying aloud for the new recruit and her assistant to follow.

Miko anxiously glanced around their surroundings. There were many costumed people milling about, several of whom called out greetings to the League members surrounding her. One who dressed similarly to Robin Hood-Green Arrow-approached them.

"Who's the new girl?" he asked, glancing at the two Japanese women curiously.

"My name is Miko." she politely introduced herself. "I came for an evaluation."

"My name is Riku." the hanyo said in an emotionless voice, staring Green Arrow in the eye. "I make Miko-sama's armor and arrows."

"Arrows, huh?" Arrow glanced at the bow and quiver on Miko's back. "I should probably sue you for copyright infringement." He joked.

"How long have you used arrows?" Riku asked calmly.

"Around 4 years." Green Arrow replied, surprised at the boy-girl's question.

"Then Miko-sama should sue you. She has used arrows for 7 years." Riku said impassively.

The League members blinked at her in surprise, before the more good humored members of group laughed (Flash and Green Arrow).

"Smart kid." Green Arrow approved, before returning to the table he had been sitting at._ Hope she does OK, she seemed a bit nervous._

Batman led Miko to what seemed like a huge metal stadium or a gym.

Batman pointed out the viewing room. "We'll watch you from up there. You'll fight Flash first. Riku, come with us, you'll need to know if your armor works." Batman commanded, leading Riku, Jason and the other founding members from the room, and leaving Flash and Miko to face each other.

Once up in the viewing room, Batman addressed Riku. "Hopefully, this will give you an idea of how her armor needs to be made and the kinds of things to prepare it for. Though I am curious as to why you need to test out her weapons and armor."

"From the work Jason has described, I used the strongest materials I could to make her armor without hindering her movement. However the materials I use are far from indestructible, so I will need to replace things. I have not worked with some of them before, so I will need to make sure that they are suitable for this work." Riku paused, frowning slightly. "It is not always easy to come by the materials used in her current armor, so I will have to substitute them."

"'Materials'?" Batman repeated.

"Gomen, family secret, and if I told you how to make this stuff and from what, I would have to kill you. Miko-sama does not even know exactly how I do it." Riku said with a small smile. Batman nodded. He would find out eventually.

"Miko, Flash, you two can start now." Superman said through the speaker.

* * *

_OK,_ Flash thought, _I'll just disarm her, no need to beat her up. Wait, why am I so freaked about fighting a girl? I've fought plenty of them before, but then again, they were evil. Diana would kill me if she knew I was being so stupid and sexist._

_What is he waiting for? Why doesn't he just get this over with?_Miko thought._ Guess that means I need to start. _Miko darted forward and punched Flash in the stomach.

Flash doubled over, groaning in pain, leaving Miko feeling uncomfortable. Suddenly he was gone in a red blur, along with her bow and arrows. He stopped at the other side of the room, holding up her weapons with a cheeky smile before dropping them on the ground. Flash ran back to Miko and ran around her until he had created a small tornado. Miko's hair whipped around her, and soon she was floating in the middle of the man made tornado.

Miko smirked. _Wow, this sure brings back memories._She thought back to Miroku and how she had taken advantage of his good nature. She turned on her side and carefully gathered her legs beneath her to prepare to spring forward.

Flash knew he had the new recruit beaten. Hopefully she would still get in the League, but he had a reputation. _Wow, that makes me sound like a jerk, _he thought. He glance up at Miko and was shocked to see her falling from the cyclone. He stopped his running and stood to catch her, but was alarmed when he saw her face. She had twisted around so she was looking down at him, but she was smiling.

Miko smirked and pulled back her fist to punch Flash, who looked stunned. Unfortunately, he was able to gather himself enough to catch her punch, but they both fell rolling to the ground. After about ten seconds of rolling around, trying to land a punch, they ended up in a most...interesting position.

* * *

"Oh God." Jason groaned.

"Holy crap." Riku snickered.

"Wow." John chuckled.

Hawk Girl was grinning wickedly as she went to the speaker. "Hey, you two. I hope I'm not interrupting something, but I just wanted to say we'll be down there in a sec, and we hope you'll be decent by then."

Flash and Miko stared up in horror at the viewing room. During their scuffle, Flash had ended up on top of Miko, with his hands holding her wrists to the ground. Both were beet red with humiliation.

"You have a cruel sense of humor...I think we're going to get along just fine." Riku said with a grin, showing off sharp looking teeth.

Shayera smiled back. "Does this happen often? You know, when she fights?" she asked.

Riku shrugged. "Sometimes. She hates it though because she has this nasty tendency to have creepy guys hit on her. She's pretty hot."

* * *

The moment Hawk Girl had finished speaking, Miko had scrambled to get Flash off of her, and while flailing about, she kicked him in the stomach. Flash rolled off of her, clutching his stomach and trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, kamis, gomenasai!" Miko gasped, horrified.

When the others entered they found Flash doubled over clutching his stomach while Miko apologized. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. Batman stepped forward.

"Not bad." he stated.

* * *

So, what did you think? Please review!


	7. The Conversations

Hi guys, I'm finally updating! This chapter may be a bit slow, but there will be some funny stuff. I own nothing, please enjoy and review.

PS: I would like to thank my readers who offered me suggestions, they (your comments) will no doubt be helpful in the future.

PPS: JoWashington, I actually _am_ reading that (your Inu/Titans fic) and I really like it.

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

"Why are we just standing out here?" Flash asked, leaning against the wall outside the conference room.

"Because Batman and J'onn told us to?" suggested Diana.

"Because..." Flash dragged the word out.

"Because then they can shrink Miko-sama's head." Riku answered from her seat on the floor.

"Can't we at least listen in on what they're saying?" Flash groaned. "This is _boring_!"

"Normally, I'd agree with you and try to help, but if Miko-sama found out...well, I'd be better off if you just killed me now." Riku said, shuddering, as Jason nodded emphatically.

"Why, what would she do to you?" John asked, curious.

"Dude, you wouldn't understand what I mean, unless you've seen sama when she's pissed off. She's _scary_." Riku said, wide eyed.

"It's true, even Etrigan was frightened of her temper." Jason added, leaving out the added factor of her holy powers.

The five founders stared at the Englishman.

"Hey, I know what she would do to me!" Riku said brightly. "Target practice!"

"No, she wouldn't." Jason commented thoughtfully.

"Why not?"

"Because you can get back at her in training."

"Huh." Riku considered. "Never thought of it that way."

"Training?" Superman asked, interested.

"I'm in charge of Miko-sama's training here in the states. Her fighting skills have gotten pretty rusty in the past few years." Riku answered absent-mindedly.

"_You_ train _her_?" Shayera repeated, sure she had heard wrong.

Riku removed her glasses for a moment to polish them, sighing. "I've been trained since I could walk, Miko-sama, however, has only been training since she was, like, 17 or something. About 5 years, I guess." The the true reason was since Sesshomaru was a youkai, as were his students, he had been unable to teach Kagome to the best of her abilities, without causing permanent damage to her body. Riku was closer to human, so she was able to train Kagome without worrying about hurting her.

"17? How old was she when she went into the hero business?" Flash asked, interested.

"She was the same age as me." Riku said calmly.

"And how old are you?" GL asked, sounding exasperated.

"15."

"So she has to be, what, 23?"

"Close. She turned 22 a couple of months ago."

"Wow, she's about your age, Flash. Maybe you should ask her out." Shayera said, smiling. "We all know you 2 get along."

Flash groaned. _Everyone in the building will know by the end of the day_. "God, will you guys just drop it?"

"No." came their response.

"Oh, kamis, I am going to get _so_ much material out of that." Riku sighed happily.

"You said that you just moved here? You just packed up everything from Japan and moved?" Superman asked, looking down at the kid.

"Pretty much, hai." Riku replied, staring up at the ceiling.

"Didn't your parents have any problems with that?"

"Actually...they were all for it, they wanted to get me out of Japan for a while." Riku's voice had become very soft.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, the League members feeling that they had brought up a touchy subject.

"Hey, you asked why weren't eavesdropping." Riku said cheerfully. "Why don't we?"

They all looked at Superman, who looked shocked at the very suggestion.

"I am _not_ listening in!" the Boy Scout objected.

Riku snorted. "I don't know about you guys, but as Blood-san here so kindly pointed out, I don't have much to worry about being caught by sama, and I'm all for eavesdropping."

Riku stood from her spot on the floor and pressed her ear up against the door.

"Sounds like they're done with all the psychobabble." Riku said cheerfully. "Now shut up so I can hear."

"You can't possibly hear through-" Diana began to object.

"Are you willing to use lethal force if necessary?" Batman's voice came through Riku's mouth, shocking the heck out of the adults, and causing Riku to smirk.

"If there was no other solution, yes." Miko said steadily.

"If anything were to happen to you, is there anyone, other than Riku, that we could contact?" J'onn asked.

"Contact Shippo Higurashi, I can give you his information." Miko answered. "He knows about all of this."

"You trust him?"

"Yes." she said this with complete certainty.

"I also have to ask how you and Riku were shielding your thoughts from me, although I must apologize for intruding to begin with." J'onn said apologetically. "I was unable to sense anything from you, but I could sense vague thoughts and emotions from Riku."

"I appreciate the apology, but I'm afraid it took me years to build up a mental barrier, Riku is still working on it. I had a very nasty run in with a telepath, so you'll have to excuse us for that, but he left me with a few issues with telepaths."

"I understand, and I'm sorry if I brought up anything painful."

"It was a long time ago."

There was a moment of silence.

Riku's eyes widened, with an _Oh Crap_ look on her face.

"What are they saying?" Shayera asked, noticing Riku's expression.

Riku swallowed before continuing in J'onn's voice. "Riku is listening in right now, and has been mimicking our voices perfectly, much to the amusement of the others."

Everyone blanched.

Riku took on Miko's voice, staring at Jason with mirrored expressions of fear. "Riku, if you continue to listen in, you will wake up for your first day of school with absolutely no hair."

Riku looked horrified. "And Jason, I still have those old beads I used to use all the time on certain silver haired friends of ours, and I can assure you that you will wind up in the middle of a crater."

Riku immediately resumed her seat up against the wall.

"What did she mean by 'beads'?" Flash asked, still looking nervous.

"You don't want to know, but it's a real horror story to me and my friends back home. I would only wish it on my worst enemy." Riku said, giving Jason a sympathetic look.

"You and Miko can block out telepaths?" Superman asked in interest.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Well, it sounds simple enough, but it isn't really. Basically, you kind of imagine some sort of barrier surrounding your thoughts."

Superman frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I said it wasn't that simple for a _reason_." Riku sighed. "It's like describing a hanyo onna's times of the month to a ningen."

"You've lost me now."

"Told you it was complicated."

Jason groaned. "That's not complicated, it's too much information."

"And what would _you_ know about it? I don't believe _you_ ever had to deal with it, whereas _I_ have an onee-chan."

_"What are you guys talking about?"_ burst Shayera, sounding frustrated.

"Ugh, forget I said anything, if you want to get better details on the brain barrier thing, ask Miko-sama." Riku, said, scowling and glaring at the wall across from her and leaving the capes more confused than ever.

* * *

In the conference room, Kagome continued to answer the Martian and Batman's questions, which had gone from being psychoanalysis, to sounding almost like a job interview.

"Have you ever used an illegal substance? Steroids? Amphetamines?"

Response: No.

Unsaid: Does sake count?

"Have you ever participated in illegal activities?"

Response: No.

Unsaid: Other than all the youkai I've killed and the unreported murders, but there was nobody to report them to 500 years ago.

"What experience do you have?"

Response: You only would have heard of a couple from 7 years ago, one involving an out of control fire truck that left dozens dead, and another involving a boy named Satoru Sikaida.

Unsaid: The truck was being driven by a demonic mask with a body made of rotting flesh, and the boy was being haunted by his dead sister.

"At what age exactly did you begin?"

Response: 15.

Unsaid: On my birthday, I was pulled down an old well, and when I landed I was in Feudal Japan.

"Do you have any enemies that we should be aware of?"

Response: No.

Unsaid: Well, other than every youkai on Earth that doesn't belong to my clan.

"What is your relationship to Riku?"

Response: Riku is family.

Unsaid: She's my granddaughter, actually, isn't she kawaii?

"Have you ever had to kill anyone?"

Response: I'm afraid so, but there were no other options at the time.

Unsaid: I've killed hundreds of youkai.

"Did you finish high school, or any secondary education?"

Response: I received a high school education.

Unsaid: I barely managed to graduate high school.

"What skills would be useful in the field? Apart from fighting and archery."

Response: I can speak both English and Japanese fluently, I have hands on first aid experience, and I am told I am good in stressful situations.

Unsaid: I also know how to handle numerous youkai, whether I kill them or I can trick them into doing what I want them to.

"Why do you want to join the Justice League?"

The Complete Truth: I want to help people again. This was the only way.

Batman stared at Miko, who had a surprised look on her face. She thought that must be the most obvious reason for joining the League, to help people.

_Well?_ asked J'onn telepathically.

Batman waited a beat before saying anything. "Could you please send Riku in?"

* * *

Kagome shifted nervously outside of the conference room. Riku had gone in to get her 'interview', leaving Miko outside with Jason and 5 of the world's greatest heroes. _Riku probably told jokes or something, that chibi can handle anything. And _how,_for kami's sakes, did I end up sitting next to the pervy one? _Clearly, the kami's had a cruel sense of humor, because she had ended up sitting between Jason and Flash.

Flash noticed Miko's discomfort. "So...what did you do during your retirement?" he asked, trying to strike up conversation. _God, I hope she'll forget about our sparring session. She probably already thought I was pervert after I hit on her after she had barely been here a minute._

"Um...nothing really. Angst, deal with hentai visitors to my workplace, hock souveniers, tell stories, give tours, that kind of thing." Miko said, surprised at the question.

"Tourist trade?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"What is your bow made from?" Shayera asked, feeling a bit sorry for the younger woman. She seemed so nervous, like the new kid on their first day of school.

"I don't really know," Miko admitted sheepishly, "Riku doesn't usually specify the materials. I mean, I know what they are, but not the type."

"Well, what are they?" asked Green Lantern, growing impatient.

"I can't tell you, or Riku will probably kick my butt in training." Miko grimaced.

Superman chuckled. "Riku said almost the same thing earlier when Flash suggested listening in to your interview, except you would use Riku for target practice." Superman phrased his words carefully, not wanting to admit that he couldn't tell whether Riku was a boy or a girl.

"Yeah, probably." Miko said with a slight smile. "Not that I would hurt the chibi."

"'Chibi?"

"Kid." Miko rolled her eyes slightly.

"Well, what's your suit made out of?" Shayera tried again.

Miko gave Shayera an amused look.

Shayera sighed. "You don't really know, do you?"

"Oh I know, but Riku wouldn't appreciate me telling you, I know a few others who can make weapons out these kinds of materials, but they're all so secretive about it, they hate telling 'outsiders' their trade secrets." Miko explained, shaking her head. It was true, in fact, Totosai, Kohaku, Riku, they would never give the major details on how they made their weapons, whether it was the materials they kept secret or the methods of forging them. "Riku is no different."

"That's pretty weird." Flash commented.

"You're telling me." Miko chuckled.

The door slid open, revealing Riku, who immediately stepped outside, and J'onn.

J'onn looked to the other founding members. "We need to make the final decision."

* * *

"So, what did you find out?" Flash asked.

"Other than the fact that she's suffering from survivors guilt and an inferiority complex, she would be an asset." Batman said frankly.

"How, if she has psychological problems?" Green Lantern asked, still doubting Miko, although his remark resulted in a few frowns from the others (Batman didn't count, he was always frowning).

"She's bilingual, and while I left J'onn to interview Riku, I looked up a few disasters that she had mentioned being involved in." Batman tossed a couple of files on the table. "Neither of them were explained, but a few eyewitnesses do mention a girl matching her description, and she was also with a silver haired boy who apparently saved a girl from a burning building nearly a year later."

"She was also sincere about wanting to help. She wasn't hiding anything." added J'onn.

"How could you tell, you couldn't read her mind. She can barely even fight, even the kid said so." pointed out Green Lantern.

"Hey, she landed some good punches during our spar, and Riku said she _rusty." _corrected Flash.

"_And_ she's using a _kid_ to make her weapons." added John. "The kid doesn't _need_ to come up here, anyways."

"Actually, Riku made a valid point during the interview, that some of the materials used in Miko's weapons and armor, so he-she- must be certain that they are effective, and that Miko isn't harmed by faulty equipment." J'onn pointed out, beginning to feel a bit annoyed with John's obvious dislike of Miko.

"What do you have against Miko anyways?" Wonder Woman asked, frowning.

"Nothing, but we don't need some rookie out in the field endangering lives." John said stubbornly.

"But Miko isn't a rookie, haven't established that much?" Flash demanded. "She started when she was 15, the same age as me."

"We'll put Miko on probation, then. She'll be assigned missions with more experienced Leaguers for the time being." Batman said flatly. "Does anyone _truly_ object to Miko joining, or about giving Riku access to the Metro Tower?"

John was the only one who raised his hand.

Superman smiled. "Then it's settled."

* * *

The door to the conference room slid open again, causing Jason, Miko, and Riku to leap to their feet. Superman stepped out smiling warmly at Miko and holding out his hand.

"Welcome to the Justice League." said the Man of Steel, handing Miko a comm link.

* * *

Hey, sorry if this is too slow for some of you, but I felt that it needed to be here, so that we can establish everyone's views on Miko (namely John's, he's going to be a real jerk throughout most of this fic, sorry guys). Please review, and please, no flames for slowness.


	8. Whispers in the Dark

Yay, I'm finally back! I own nothing, now please, please, please be patient with me. And also INUYASHA IS DEAD. D.E.A.D. No reincarnation. And of course youkai will appear, this is an Inuyasha crossover. And when, in the anime, have her powers been useful against 'tainted' humans? The only time she used her powers against humans was in the movie when she had those claw things, which were awesome, and I _will_ use them in the future.

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

Miko was beginning feel very frustrated. She had been part of the League for four days, and zilch for missions. Sure, there were missions, but none for her, it seemed. In the four days, she'd managed to get a job in the small town she was living in, Keystone, Nebraska, as a waitress. Oh, and there was the fact that Miko had now seen more people 'pairing up' than she had ever seen in the Sengoku Jidai. She had already seen Green Lantern and Vixen slip into a closet, she had walked in on Black Canary and Green Arrow making out in the gym, she saw Wonder Woman catch Batman, of all people, by surprise in order to kiss him, and she had seen Huntress pull Question by the tie into his room._ Kami's, and I had thought everyone was pairing off back in the day._

Riku had started school and came home the first day with a black eye because some boy had gotten upset over Riku speaking to his girlfriend. She had also admitted to her little joke as well, about her plan to confuse as many superheroes as she could about he gender. Kagome had laughed, even if she knew she should disapprove, since she was, for the time being, anyways, responsible for Riku. Riku had also complained about the fact that she was overstocked on arrows which weren't even being put to use.

Finally, salvation came in the form of a breakout at Arkham Asylum.

* * *

"Jeez, Bats, I know you think she has what it takes, but this is like throwing a five-year-old in shark infested waters." Flash said as Miko came up the stairs of the teleporter.

"Arigato for the vote of confidence." Miko deadpanned before turning to Batman. Miko wasn't exactly excited for what she was about to face, but she wasn't scared either. "Are we going then?"

Batman nodded curtly before stalking to the teleporter.

Flash watched nervously as the new recruit vanished with Batman._ I hope you know what you're doing Bats._

* * *

"What's keeping him? We've got better things to do than wait around for that freak." Detective Harvey Bullock whined.

Comissioner Gordon sighed internally, wondering why Bullock even came up to the station roof to wait for Batman if all he was going to do was whine. Of course, his petulance was a coping mechanism for when he was stressed, such as he was now.

"He should be here soon. Even with all the League stuff, he puts Gotham first." came the familiar, youthful voice of Robin. "I think he's bringing in some back up, though."

Two more figures stepped out of the shadows, a male and a female, Nightwing and Batgirl, a followed by another pair, Batman and woman dressed in black and blue armor. Gordon wasted no time.

"The breakout occured in the maximum security wing, so the worst of them are loose in Gotham now," Gordon explained hastily. "Joker, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and Bane are all lose. Thank God they were the only ones."

"Bane?" Batman raised an eyebrow.

"After the last time he broke out, Stonegate decided that they didn't feel like dealing with him this time around, so he got sent to Arkham." Gordon explained with a grimace. "Apparently his sociopathic tendencies were enough to get him in."

"Great." Robin muttered, wondering if he would even be allowed to help out. One of the things that, in his opinion, sucked about being a sidekick, was that nobody took you seriously, much less thought you could take care of himself.

"Who's she?" Bullock asked loudly, pointing a thick finger in the armored woman's direction.

"She's Miko." Batman said curtly. "Any leads?"

"Not much, most of them have been pretty quiet so far, but Bane's been spotted near one of his warehouses. Croc's probably back in the sewers already, from what we've found."

"Good enough." Batman said, nodding to Miko and the rest of his 'family' to follow.

"So, what we gotta 'nother costumed freak in town?" Bullock demanded.

"I beg your pardon?" Miko asked softly, speaking for the first time, turning to face the overweight detective. Everyone watched curiously, including Batman, wondering how Miko planned to handle Bullock. Would she blow up? Pout? Mock him?

"If I am a 'costumed freak,' as you so kindly put it, then why are you even up here?" Miko asked, staring Harvey down, "I mean no disrespect, but so far you have contibuted nothing by coming here to wait for the 'freaks,' unless you count whining and insulting us like a petulant child."

Nightwing watched, a bit impressed. He had resisted yelling at the annoying cop for years, and this girl had simply put the detective down, rendering him speechless. Nobody could claim she had said anything untrue, since it was. As the woman turned to back to them, she raised an eyebrow at them, as if to say 'is there a problem?'

Batman was a bit surprised, not that he showed it. From the way Jason had spoken of her temper, he had expected an explosion. Apparently she had learnt to curb her temper during her retirement.

Batgirl was pleased that _someone_ had told Bullock that, she was just sorry it wasn't her.

Robin couldn't help but think, _I think I have a new hero now._

* * *

Robin glanced at Miko where she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, her hands resting on her kneecaps. He kept expecting her to start complaining about being left with the kid, or sitting in the background, left out of the action, or something like that. He hardly interacted with the League, unless one counted occasionally hanging out with the younger members, such as Static, Gear, and She-bang. Most of the 7, excluding Flash, who often comiserated with him, acted patronizing, which got old real fast. Batgirl and Nightwing had both been tasked with patrol, since petty criminals would use the panic incited by the escaped rogues to pull a few jobs. They were currently staking out a warehouse that Bane had used in the past, and may use as a hideout until he was back on his feet.

"So, um, you're new to the League, huh?" Robin asked cautiously, in case she ended up being one of the less friendly heroes that he had met before.

"Hai." her eyes didn't move from the warehouse.

"What does Miko mean, anyways? Your from Japan, right? Is it something Japanese?"

"Hai. In English, it means priestess. That is a title I hold in Japan. I would appreciate it if you don't tell everyone that bit, they always think that means that I'm a nun."

"Oh." Robin remained silent for a moment. "I heard that you had a sidekick."

"No, not really. Riku makes my armor and weapons as well as helping me in my training."

"How old is he?"

"15."

Robin was silent for a moment. Miko didn't seem to be much of a coversationalist. "No offense, but I kinda thought you would start complaining about being stuck on lookout. It's the most boring part of the job, and most of the other Leaguers complain about being left out of the action."

"Every part of it is important, even if it is boring." Miko said patiently.

Lights went on inside of the warehouse at that moment, causing Robin to snatch up his communicator. "Batman, lights just went on inside!"

"Stay where you are, only apporach if I am not out in 20 minutes. If you hear gunfire, leave and contact GCPD or Batgirl and Nightwing."

"We will, but be careful." Miko said into her own temporary communicator.

* * *

Batman stared at the communicator with a bit of surprise. '_Be careful?' _

* * *

Twenty minutes passed quickly. Robin was getting antsy, as was Miko, though she did a better job of hiding it.

"Well, Robin, since it has been 20 minutes, and it's been pretty quiet, I believe it is safe to assume that we should go inside." Miko said at last. "Any ideas on how to get in undetected?"

This made Robin's night. _An adult member of the League was asking for his opinion!_ It became official in Robin's mind that Miko was awesome.

"See that window on the roof? We should rappel down from there." Robin advised. "Do you have a grappler?"

Miko shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I am an archer first and foremost, with some skill in martial arts, not a ninja."

Robin nodded, wondering if she was better than Green Arrow or Speedy. He pulled out his grappler before holding out an arm to Miko, who placed her hands carefully over his, as to not force him to pull the trigger too soon. Robin pulled the trigger, the hook catching the ledge of warehouse. They both kicked off from the ledge, swinging across to the warehouse. Robin slowly rappelled them up. The roof wasn't very steep, so they were able to walk carefully across the metal to the windows through which light shone from inside.

They were surprised by the sight of all the thugs. They had not expected Bane to gather his forces so quickly, unless he had had a hand in the breakout, instead of a lucky break.

They were also surprised that Batman was sprawled on the floor, surrounded by a ring of muscle.

Something caught Miko's eye. A huge, behemoth of a man moved towards the ring, which started to open to him as he approached. The man had tubes on his back, filled with acid green liquid._ Bane. Not that scary, compared to the things I've seen. _He wore a black and white mask, which showed red slits for eyes, and a mouth that seemed to form a permanent snarl.

"We can't take all those guys." Robin decided, "We have to call in Batgirl and Nightwing."

Those words had hardly left the boy wonder's lips than one of the thugs brought Bane a very large gun, large enough to fit into the giant's hand.

"We may not have the time." Miko murmured. "Robin-kun, that tube of Bane's, he must have a constant supply of his Venom in order to maintain his strength, right?"

"Yeah."

"How long would his strength last if the tube was cut?" Miko was already knotching an arrow, preparing to shoot through that little opening where the window pane had been knocked out.

"Five minutes, tops, depending on how much energy he exerts."

"Works for me. Get ready to run." She fired the arrow, but it didn't hit Bane or the tube she had inquired about. Far from it, as the arrow struck the flickering, dusty florescence lights, showering the criminals in sparks, and knocking out half of the buildings lighting.

Robin was a bit surprised. While knocking out some of the lighting was handy, it was nowhere near the tube Miko had been talking about. Before he could say anything he was jerked back by Miko when a screamof rage could be heard.

"WHERE IS HE?" Bane roared.

During the distraction the shattered lights had caused, Batman had been able to slip away into the dark.

"Be ready to run away this time, get your grappler ready." Miko warned, drawing back another arrow and-

BANG! One of the henchmen had gotten jumpy and started shooting at the darker corners of the warehouse, only to be reprimanded by one of the others. The sound of the gunshot rang through air, startling Miko into releasing the arrow early and sending it through the glass.

Alerted by the sound of glass greaking and the shining fragments falling, Bane looked up and saw the arrow sailing towards him, easily catching it in his hand. He raised his eyes and saw two figures running across the rooftop. With a snarled, "Shoot them!" the henchmen began to fire their weapons at Robin and Miko.

Robin launched his grappler, and grabbed onto Miko, but not firmly enough. As they swung across the street, Robin lost his grip on Miko's waist, and she fell to the the sidewalk below. The impast was greatly softened by the dragon hide armor she wore. _Those are going to be some nasty bruises in the morning,_ Miko thought with a grimace. Two henchmen seized her by the arms, not even allowing her to stand up, instead dragging her to Bane on her knees.

Bane was still mountain of muscle, the Venom hadn't lost it's effect yet, and he looked pissed. As soon as she had been dragged within his reach, Bane had his massive hand wrapped around Miko's throat, lifted her into the air, close to his face, giving her the horrible view of his eyes. There was something in them that made her nervous, as their emptiness was horribly like that of a feral youkai, something that would't think twice of killing her and feasting upon her corpse.

"So, Senorita, you're a new amiga of the Bat's?" Bane said in frighteningly soft voice, softer than Miko had expected. "Well, that's too bad, I'm sure that we could have been _great_ friends." That caused her to cringe at the implication. "We probably still be great friends, all you have to do, Senorita, is tell me where the Bat is."

_Wow, what a choice, what on earth will I do? _"No."

Miko sensed the spike in Bane's anger. "What if I said that I would let you live if you told me?" he asked, his voice still soft.

She didn't even bother to answer.

Bane snorted. "Figures, you hero types are all the same. Too bad." He began to squeeze.

The pressure that Kagome felt at that moment made her wonder, absurdly, whether Bane was trying to break her neck or throttle her. As that ridiculous thought passed through her mind, she recalled something from almost a week ago that Riku had told her.

Flashback-

_"Okay, grandma, even though you have a few knives on you and you're mostly using your arrows, you are virtually armed to the teeth." Riku claimed, holding up the decpetively strong suit that she was to wear to fight crime._

_"How so?" Kagome asked, looking over the suit that was so similar to Sango's._

_"Well. you notice that the actual armor parts fit pretty loosely? Well, they come off easily, but not by accident, and it's not like it will be flapping around when you move. Now, it's only a little loose on your shoulders, just as it is under your leg plates, but on your left shoulder is that aloe stuff for burns and and on your right is for disinfectant." Riku pointed out each part in question, "On your left and right shin, there is a knife under the plates, the sheaths are attached to them, there is not chance that you may move the wrong way and cut yourself. Now, if you will turn your attention to the soles of your boots." Kagome complied and found two tiny blades in the heels, neither longer than her index finger. "See those? Those suckers are useless in a fight, but they are only for emergencies, if you can't grab the other knives, go for your boot, they are coated in a stinging poison, harmlesss, but it hurts like hell. Now, don't even get me started on all the stuff you've got hidden in your quiver..."_

Flashback End-

Miko's vision bagan to go hazy. She thanked whatever deities existed that her arms were free. She began to raise her leg, which was rather difficult, given her lack of oxygen, which made her whole body feel numb and heavy. Her fingers were also numb as she felt for the small compartment that held the blade. Once she felt the knife in her hand, she had to use all her strength to raise it and send it through Bane's skin.

Bane let out a roar of pain, dropping Miko to the ground, leaving the 22-year-old gasping for breath. She scrambled to her feet, dead set on getting as far from Bane as she could, since he was now charging after her. She heard another cry of pain from the beast, and turned to see what had caused it. His hand was now bleeding from a second wound, and saw Batman sprinting towards Bane, a batarang in his hand. With a look around, Miko realized that all of Bane's henchmen had vanished. _Ah, so that's what he was doing._ Bane had so busy with Miko that he hadn't even noticed his forces being quietly knocked out.

Having seen Batman, Bane's attention had been redirected to the Caped Crusader. He pivoted to take a swing at Batman, only for the smaller man to easily dodge the fist. The Venom was wearing off. A flash of light drew Miko's attention, and she saw Robin, swinging down from another rooftop, throwing a birdarang at Bane. The blade sliced through the criminal's cheek, once again distracting him from his intended target. As Bane spun to face Robin, she realized that Bane was slowing down. She pulled back and arrow and fired it off, allowing the arrow to slice through the skin of his back and imbed itself into the bricks on his other side. Bane let out a roar of pain, and once again found himself facing Miko, but his time he didn't even get the chance to lunge at her, instead he collapsed, falling on his face.

Miko turned to Batman, waiting, for lack of better word, for his direction. She watched as he approached the unconcious man. Miko realized, suddenly, that the man she had just fought was a drug addict. Casting her senses out cautiously, she felt that Bane's health was already declining. He was so reliant on Venom that he would never be able to survive without it. As she thought about this, the police and the paramedics arrived.

She waited with Robin as they waited for Batman to finish with the paramedics, since when he had been overpowered, his arm had been cut badly. She had already been dismissed, but told that she would be a walking bruise for a while.

"You know," Miko began, turning to Robin, as they watched Bane and his henchmen be taken away, "it's almost sad, when think about Bane." Robin gave her a look that clearly stated that he thought she had hit her head on the pavement when he had dropped. "Think about it, he's an addict, and what are the downsides of all drugs? He collapsed as soon as the drug was out of his system. He'll probably be completely dependant on it for the rest of his life."

Robin thought on it. "Honestly Miko, I think that he's going to get exactly what he deserves if that happens. Do you know how he ended up in Gotham?" Miko shook her head. "He came here as an assassin for Rupert Thorne, a local crime lord, to kill Batman. He wanted to kill Batman and take over Gotham's underworld, and that's still what he wants to do. He's been working towards that for years, so trust me when I say he's had it coming."

"Hmm." Miko surveyed the area, thinking on what Robin had said, when she noticed something odd. A man in a dark green suit, really, he was quite non-descript with mousy, slicked back hair, and wearing dark gloves, was bending over the ground to get something. He was holding a pair of tweezers, and he was picking up a cotton, swab, Miko saw, which was red with blood, and he was placing it in a bag. Before she could say anything, he walked briskly away. _What was that?_

* * *

Robin, Batman, and Miko stepped off the platform at Metro Tower, surprising a few people that Batman's ward was there. They all seemed a little grima and bruised, but other than that, they appeared okay, considering where they had just come from.

"I'm going to call Riku up, I lost my knife earlier." Miko explained quicklybefore approaching Mr. Terrific, who punched in the apropriate code to contact the kitsune hanyou. "Riku, are you there?"

"Hai, sama. You in one piece?" Riku drawled.

"Hai, but I lost one of my smaller knives, I'll need a replacement. Can you come up?"

"Does Kairi-sempai want to sleep with Akatsuki-oji-sama?"

"Nani? He's 5 years her senior!"

"Your point? Beam me up."

As soon as Riku appeared, she strode over and grabbed Miko's leg and jerked it up so she could examine the bottom of her boot. The her firm grip was the only thing that stopped Miko from loosing her balance. Satisfied at having found the empty compartment, Riku unceremoniously replaced the knife.

"So, how'd you loose the knife?" Riku asked, glancing curiously at Robin, who was doing the same to her.

"A fight with Bane. I stabbed him in the hand, but he tossed somewhere." Miko explained quickly.

"Did he get away?"

"No."

"Okay, then, you're not in trouble for losing that knife, since you didn't loose the fight." Riku said, arms crossed. "But I will expect a play-by-play later. Now who's this guy?" She had turned her attention to Robin.

"Robin." the boy introduced himself, holding out his hand, which Riku promptly shook. "Have you seen this whole place yet?"

"Nope. You offering to play tour-guide?"

"Sure." Both teens turned to their elder counterparts, who each nodded the affirmative, before they darted away.

"I am sorry if Riku is a negative influence on Robin." Miko apologized.

"I'll overlook it if you explain why Riku is determined to hide her gender." Batman said skewering her. "And her species."

Miko was only a bit surprised. Riku had made no clues to her gender, but Batman was the world's greatest detective for a reason. But Riku had mentioned in her interview that she wasn't human, but had not disclosed her species.

"Well those are related topics. Riku's kind literally can't go without, um, messing with someone's head. If she does, it could lead to her doing it in less constructive ways. This is moderately harmless, so I saw no reason to stop her from pretending to be a boy. Riku may tell people in time what she is, but she is entitled to her privacy. I hope that is an acceptable enough answer for you."

Batman nodded. It had distracted a few people, but if they couldn't concentrate on missions then that was their own fault. He decided to change the subject.

"Your have a good aim, but your concentration is lacking. You can't let yourself be distracted by bullets unless they are aimed at you."

"I know, I will tell Riku and I am sure she can come up with something." Miko said, and with a small bow, she left to find the kids.

* * *

Wow, seriously long chapter, I am so, so, so sorry for the delay. What did you think? Please review!


	9. Living Dead

Hey guys, what's happening? Well, if you actually take the time to read this, you'll find out what I have to tell you to be quite interesting. Like many Inuyasha crossover's, Kagome's past will, as usual, refuse to remain in the past, just a head's up. I own nothing. Please Enjoy!

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

Miko held onto Green Arrow's shoulders tightly._ Maybe I should look into learning how to ride a motorcycle. _Miko was currently on a mission with Black Canary and Green Arrow. It was actually pretty simple, some gold was being moved to the Federal Reserve in a armored van, it was more than likely that someone would think it an easy way to make a lot of fast cash. And sure enough, some scumbags had knocked-out and impersonated the guards handling the transfer, and started to drive off. Hardly a second later, someone had found the guards stuffed into a closet and come out yelling that the van was being stolen, which had been their cue to follow.

Pressing her thighs against the 'cycle in order to keep from falling off, Miko pulled an arrow from her quiver, and was prepared to fire it off when she heard Canary's signature Canary Cry, followed immediately by a gunshot. Arrow skidded to a stop, and Miko could sense his fear for his girlfriend. Once the van no longer blocked the view of Canary, they saw her picking herself off the ground, now examining the now ruined front tire of her bike.

Canary turned to them. "Go! Keep up with them, I'm fine!" Miko and GA nodded, roaring away from the blonde woman.

Soon the van was in sight. "We won't be able to catch up completely, I've got them." Miko said, pulling out her arrow and letting it fly. The arrow struck the back tire, causing the van to swerve all over the road, then slamming into a light pole. Once they were close enough, GA and Miko leapt from the bike and positioned themselves on either side of the van, effectively preventing the would be thieves from running. Moments later the police showed up, allowing the two archers to return to Black Canary.

"She's probably moping over her bike." Green Arrow chuckled, recalling the last time she had had a bike of hers ruined.

Miko said nothing, since she could only take Arrow's word on that. She felt the man tense in front of her and his aura of fear had returned, and lifting her head she saw why. Black Canary was sprawled out on the ground next to her bike. Miko knew before she even got off the bike that Black Canary was dead. As soon as the bike stopped, Miko was at Canary's side and already beginning CPR before barking out, "Call the League!"

* * *

"Thanks Miko." Green Arrow said quietly as they stared at the glass that separated themselves from the comatose blonde woman that Miko had saved barely 15 minutes ago.

"It was nothing." Miko said gently, patting his arm slightly with her hand, sending some calming energy into the poor man.

"I'm serious, I froze up, and if you hadn't been there, she would be.." Green Arrow allowed his words to trail off, he couldn't bring himself to say the word dead in a statement concerning Dinah.

"But she's not, she'll-she's okay." Miko had almost said 'she'll be okay," but that was a lie. Miko had no idea if Canary would be okay...especially since her soul was gone.

"Hey, Arrow, Miko, you guys okay?" there was a breeze and a red blur as Flash appeared in between them. "I heard what happened. It's like all the League women are dropping like flies. N-not that they're dead, but-"

"What do you mean? Isn't it just Black Canary who is like this?" Miko asked, surprised.

"No, Fire and Ice weren't answering their comm links, so when someone got sent down to check on them they were-well-" Flash gestured towards Canary's prone form. "Question had a date/patrol with Huntress, he turns his back for about five seconds, he looks back, same thing. More women are being brought in by the hour. But the League's working on it, cause GL caught the thing doing it. Vixen and John were meeting up for a date, and he found this big glowing worm thing attacking her-"

"Worm thing? Have you seen it?" Miko demanded.

"Um, no, but they said it was flying and that it has some kind of bug head." Flash answered, surprised at the normally demure young woman's assertive attitude. "John hacked it up and some of the other guys are checking it out in one of the labs."

"Which one?" Miko demanded, her voice urgent.

"What's with you?" Green Arrow asked, surprised at Miko's change in demeanor.

"I may know what's doing this, but I have to see this body to be certain." Miko explained, her voice serious.

"What?"

"Body, now!" Miko said impatiently. Startled and hopeful, Flash scooped the woman up and raced her to the lab.

* * *

Batman scowled down at the worm-like body on the examination table before him. He had not encountered anything like this creature, one of many that were responsible for multiple League women lying in the med bay, all kept alive only by life support. Soon, though, unless they found a way to awaken them, they would be forced to unplug the women who had never wanted to be kept on life support.

Batman was pulled from his musings when Flash burst in, carrying Miko, of all people in his arms. Her eyes zeroed in on the creature immediately. She groaned, before saying, "Schinidamachu."

"Bless you." Flash said.

"What? No, _this _is a shinidamachu, a soul collector, I've encountered them before." Miko said, staring intently at the deceased youkai. "They take souls, but their harmless on their own."

"On their own?" Batman questioned.

"Hai, they _never_ attack of their own voliton. They can be controlled, but only by certain people, and the criteria is pretty strict, so nobody in the League, except, possibly, Jason, could control them."

"What makes you so sure?" demanded Batman, suspicious of her knowledge.

"Well, you have to be dead, well, undead, or you have to practice necromancy. I'm pretty sure Jason only dabbles in that kind of thing."

"Um, maybe I just didn't hear right through your accent-_ not_ that that's your fault, of course- but did you say _undead?" _Flash asked, nervous at the turn this conversation was taking.

"In Japan, there is a way to bring people back to life, in a manner of speaking, hence the undead comment. It involves mixing the bones of the person, as well as soil from a graveyard and mixing it into clay. The clay must be made into the hollowed out form of a human, nothing specific, not even gender, as long as it is that of a human, or whatever species the person was. As it is heated in a kiln, the practitioner then calls the person's soul back to the world of the living, and into the faux body. Once the soul is inside, the body becomes as the persons was when they died. However, this body is made of clay, so they do not eat, breath, nor do they truly sleep, or recquire any of the things they needed when alive. Their bodies require a regular meals of souls being placed into them, hence the soul collectors. I have met these beings before, and they are not usually so happy about being in the land of the living. But there is something else strange about these attacks, since the souls that are collected, are usually that of the recently dead, therefore gathered from places like hospitals where they can catch the souls as they leave the body. The collectors won't take souls from the living unless directed to do so."

"So, are we to assume that whoever is behind these attacks has a grudge against the League?" Batman questioned.

"Definitely. And if this is the work of an undead, then it's probably a human woman." agreed Miko.

Batman's eyes narrowed. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, the undead usually feast on those of the same species and gender, or at least all the ones I've encountered have done so. That is why Hol-san and Diana-hime have not been attacked, because neither of them are human." Miko paused, her eyes going wide. "Uh-oh, those women need to be tied down." She immediately strode from the room, leaving the two male heroes to follow her. Before they had to ask, Miko told them, "When souls are taken from the living, their bodies can be controlled by whoever sent the soul collectors."

Eyes narrowing at that, Batman began barking out orders to onlooking Leaguers and medical staff. Despite the strangeness of the request, given that it was _Batman_ giving the order, they quickly obeyed. It was explained why when the women began trying to sit up mere moments after being tied down.

"Why don't they just use their powers to get out?" asked Flash as he watched Vixen struggle with the straps binding her.

"Perhaps their captor is unaware how to make them tap into their powers?" Miko suggested with a shrug. "I've never seen a super-powered individual have their soul snatched."

Their conversation was promptly interrupted by the sound of a certain demon roaring.

They found Etrigan to be throwing a temper tantrum in the cafeteria.

"THAT BLASTED WITCH! I SHALL SEE HER BURN IN HELL!" Etrigan roared, making more than a few Leaguers inch away from the raging demon.

Miko, however, rolled her eyes in obvious annoyance before stomping over to Etrigan, and tapping him on the shoulder. The moment Etrigan turned to face her, Miko smilled sweetly down at him. "Etrigan, I understand that you deeply despise Morgaine le Fay, so do I and I have never met the woman, but there is a time and a place for your rants." Miko's smile vanished, instead replaced by an absolutely furious expression. "BUT FOR THE LOVE OF THE KAMIS THIS IS NEITHER THE TIME NOR THE PLACE, SO _SHUT UP_!"

Etrigan cowered in front of the angered priestess, causing all turning to gape at the spectacle.

Miko heaved a sigh. "What set you off this time?"

Etrigan growled, standing at his full (if unimposing) height. "The one controlling those women is Morgaine le Fay, I'd know her magic anywhere." Etrigan snarled in his rough English accent.

"That tells us who's been messing around with dead stuff." commented Flash, who seemed more than a tad freaked by Miko's display of temper.

"Messing around with dead stuff? What the hell do you people do here?" came a voice from behind Flash, who immediately jumped about two feet in the air.

"What the-? When did you get here?" Flash yelped.

"Just now. So, why does it smell like the walking dead here?" Riku asked, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"A bunch of the League women have had their souls snatched by schinidamachu." Miko stated grimly.

"Snatchers? Why the hell would snatchers be in the United States?"

"Maybe you should bring the rest of us up to speed." Shayera stated, striding forward, followed by a few more Leaguers.

Miko sighed.

* * *

"So, for all you know, you _don't_ know if there's some way to get back these women's souls." Green Lantern stated flatly.

The original 7 surrounded Miko, who had had to explain the whole thing to them.

"She didn't say that." Riku said, not bothering to hide the dislike in her voice. She had forced her way in, and when Superman threatened to remove her, she had casually inquired how that wasn't considered 'bad touching.' Superman had been so flustered that he had simply allowed her to stay. "Hell, _I_ know a way to get the souls back."

Miko nodded in agreement. "The undead must be destroyed. Once the body is destroyed, the souls will go where they are intended to go."

"Do you have any suggestions as to how you would find the person?" Batman asked.

"Simple, follow the snatchers. Only Stewart-san saw it happen, right?" When given the affirmative, Miko continued. "My advice is send me out, seemingly alone, and follow the snatchers. It's as simple as that."

"No, this is an unecessary risk, and if this doesn't work, you'll end up in a coma as well." Superman vetoed that idea.

"How is that _unecessary?_" Kagome asked, looking at the Man of Steel as if he had just grown another head. "How in the _hell _would you get the women's souls back otherwise?"

I'll go instead," Diana volunteered. Miko shook her head as did Riku.

"Diana-hime, you're not human." Riku stated flatly. "Snatchers can only handle human souls, non-human souls are too unpredictable and difficult for them to handle. And I doubt this is the time to experiment on whether or not alien souls are more manageable." Riku cut her eyes towards Shayera at that. "Unless you got some other human woman willing to have her soul ripped out, sama's the only option you got."

"Arigato Riku-chan." Miko said with a quick smile towards her granddaughter. "As we have already said, have you got any better ideas?"

* * *

"Man this feels like we've stepped into a Buffy episode." Flash muttered, half to himself and have to Miko, whom he had been delegated (bullied into it by the others) to 'escort', and make it seem as if they truly were patrolling.

"What's 'Buffy'?" Miko asked, completely confused.

"Oh, uh, right, they don't have that it Japan. Uh, it's about this girl who was given super strength, and speed and stuff so she could fight vampires and demons, and generally keep the world from ending." Flash explained uncertainly, since he hadn't watched the show in years.

_Sounds a bit familiar._"Sounds like the storyline to about a million mangas back home." Kagome said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I've read some of that kind of thing over the years, it's a pretty common pattern." Flash nodded in agreement.

Miko raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly. "Oh? You're an otaku then?"

"Hey! I'm not _that_ bad. I just like a bit of anime every now and then." Flash defended himself.

"Well, given that you know what that word even means only show that you're a closet otaku." Miko teased. It was fun to do, no wonder Shippo and his children did it all of the time.

"I can't win this can I?" Flash groaned, only slightly annoyed.

"Iie." Miko laughed at the speedster.

_"Miko, Flash, there's a group of soul collectors headed your way, brace yourselves." _Batman's voice crackled over the comm-links.

"Well, you'd better go on ahead." Miko sighed. _Here I go again._

"Good luck, and I am _so_ buying you an iced mocha when this is all over." Flash said quietly before running ahead a few yards before stopping to turn back to see if the snatchers took the bait.

It was almost nauseating to see Miko suspending in midair, the soul collectors swarming around her body, dipping their thin legs into her chest and reutrning out with glowing white orbs. _Weird, did that happen with all the other women?_

When the snatchers had had their fill, they allowed Miko's limp body to fall. Falsh quickly ran beneath her in order to catch her. Miko's eyes were wide open and blank, and her breathing was laboured, as if it were taking all of her strength to do so. He reached for his comm link.

"Hey, tell me you guys are tailing those things." Flash said grimly, staring down at the barely living girl in his arms. It was actually painful just to watch her heaving chest and pale, drawn face.

"_Relax, hotshot, we got it handled_." John said into the link. "_Just get the rookie to the med bay_."

"Yeah, right."

* * *

The shinidamachu lead the Leaguers- John, Superman, and Shayera- to (of course) a warehouse near the docks.

"This is starting to get repetitive." Shayera grumbled. "How many times have we tracked enemies to warehouses?"

None answered.

The shinidamachu slipped in through an open window on the roof with their prize. Shayera felt her respect for the newest member of the League grow substantially. She had allowed her soul to be torn from her body in order to find the souls of the other women. Shayera could still recall Solomon Grundy and his desire for a soul, even if he hadn't entirely understood what it was, Solomon had known a soul was an incredibly important thing to have, and to take a soul was an unspeakable crime. And given Miko's resolution and knowledge of stolen souls, the younger woman clearly possessed a clear understanding of what it meant to lose one's soul.

Looking down through the window, Superman was sickened by the sight of a purple haired figure standing in the center of the room, soul collectors flying around her body, dropping the shattered pieces of Miko's soul into her chest. The figure could easily be identified as the person who had been sacrificed in order to resurrect Darkseid, and had been dead for months: Tala.

Her skin was as white as snow, no doubt a sign of being undead, and gazing harder at the sorceress, Superman could see that she had no bones or body heat, but was a cold shell filled with the glowing white energy of souls.

"Yessss." Tala murmured in pleasure. "A massive, powerful soul." She turned to the remaining shinidamachu before demanding, "Give me the rest, now!"

She was interrupted by the John, Shayera, and Superman crashing through the window, their faces contorted in anger.

"_No!_" Tala snarled in anger before turning to the ghostly youkai surrounding her. "_Stop them!"_

The youkai remained stationary.

"Guess you're not the one in charge, eh, witch! Morgaine le Fay is!" Shayera sneered, reducing the glowing youkai to pale dust with her mace. None of them noticed the remaining soul collectors, who held a large portion of Miko's soul, slipping out of the shattered window and into the night.

With an outraged screech, Tala summoned two large handfuls of purple flames into her hands, before hurling them at Superman, who was most susceptible to magic. They struck his chest, knocking him back into the wall, groaning in pain. When Tala turned her attack onto Green Lantern, who raised a green shield around himself, Shayera intercepted, striking the energy like baseballs with her mace.

John pinned the undead woman to the wall with his ring. "Why did le Fay resurrect you?" He demanded.

"I-I can't-" she choked out.

"Then there's no point in depriving the others of their souls any longer." Shayera snapped, raising her mace and bringing it down upon the sorceress once known as Tala.

* * *

Flash and Riku sat by Miko's bedside, where she continued to breathe shallowly.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that you stuck around." Riku commented in the awkward silence.

"You think." Flash answered with a quick smile, before questioning. "So, what's with the gender-bender stuff you're doing?"

Riku snickered. "You caught on, huh? Not even sama realizes it. I'm just doing it for kicks. I figured it would be fun to make you superheroes squirm a bit." Riku grinned. "And the fact that you even know what that means shows that you're an otaku."

"Yeah, Miko said the same thing, and I _am not. _Besides I think you're succeeding in making people squirm." Flash snorted. "That was great with what you did to supes."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have done it if Diana-hime had said that." Riku got a dreamy expression on her face.

Flash burst out laughing. "Oh, God, you're crushing on Wondy? Well, I hate to break it to you, but seeing as you're a bit too young and you don't dress up as a giant bat, I think you're out of luck."

"I know, but Batman needs to stop wallowing in self loathing, because Diana-hime deserves someone who'll admit that she is a strong, independant woman who can take care of herself. Besides, I'm 15, it's normal, _healthy_, for me to have unattainable crushes on older men and women."

"Door swings both ways?"

"Oh, yeah, and I _love_ strong women who could at the very least hold their own against me in a fight." Riku sighed. "She's like, the epitome of what I look for in girls."

Their conversation was halted by the sounds of a nurse screaming. The two threw the door open and found the entire hall lit up by bright, shining souls. The largest of the souls detached itself from the swarm and floated into Miko's room. The large orb sank into her chest, just as all of the others sank into their own bodies. The medical bay with filled with the sounds of relieved sighs in the case of the men, and annoyed or angry swearing from the women who were wondering why the hell they had been strapped to their beds.

Miko groaned after sitting up. "Ugh, I swear, getting your soul ripped out was never this painful before."

"I wouldn't know sama." Riku deadpanned before looking around the hospital room in confusion. "Where the hell did Flash go?"

"Flash was here?" Miko asked, surprised.

"Yeah, the entire time." Riku said nodding.

_Huh, that was nice of him, too bad he didn't stick around, _Miko thought as she swung her legs over the bedside, only to be surprised when she found an iced mocha being held right in front of her face.

"Your mocha, milady." Flash said gallantly, bowing as he held out the beverage.

Miko giggled, playing along. "Why, arigato, good sir."

"Your, welcome milady. If you would be so kind as too join me in the cafeteria to enjoy our drinks." Flash continued in a snobbish voice as he offered Miko his arm.

"Why, yes, I believe I shall." Miko said, looping her arm in his, before the two strode out of the room.

_Humans are so damn weird,_ Riku thought, staring after the two heroes.

* * *

"Geez, Miko, you look like crap." Shayera blurted out when she saw Miko next. Miko normally had fair skin, but now she looked almost ashen.

"Arigato, Hol-san." Miko grumbled to the Thanagarian. Her good mood brought on by Flash's jokes, stories, and flirting (which always boosts a girl's ego) lessening.

"Sorry, but why don't you take a few days off if you're coming down with something?" Shayera suggested. "You've done good work tonight, take a break."

"Alright, can you get me off the schedule then?"

"No problem."

* * *

Morgaine le Fay hummed as she watched the cooking clay. She was hardly surprised that the mediocre witch had been killed again, but either way, Morgaine had what she needed. She glanced over at the large yet incomplete soul held by the shinidamachu. Her new partner would be pleased.

"Soon, my son, soon you shall be young again." Morgaine crooned to her ancient child, who continued to stare blankly at the fireplace, where the clay and bone body began to take a female shape.

* * *

Whoot! This is so long it's not even funny, but totally worth all the time needed to make this chapter. I hope you enjoyed, please review!


	10. Mirror

I knew you guys would catch on, you guys are so smart, so I hope you like this**! **I own nothing. Please Enjoy!

English/Regular

_Thoughts/Emphasis_

**Japanese**

* * *

Batman had been called to the Gotham Natural History Museum due to 'some kind of ninja lady' who had broken in and was brazenly snatching up jewels.

Batman found where she had entered, a pulverized padlock to a roof window, and a grappling hook leading to the ground level. He followed the thief's path until he heard the all-to-familiar sound of glass shattering. As he turned the corner silently, Batman saw the thief, and while he didn't show it, he was shocked by who it was.

It was Miko, wearing her blue and black armor, her face paler than normal, and a slight smirk on her face. As if sensing he was there, she turned to face him, her lips twisted into an arrogant smirk.

"Hello, Batman." her voice was colder, harsher, and there was undeniable disdain in her tone as she used his name.

Batman didn't bother to answer as he lunged at her, only for her to dodge easily, and run to her rope. As he followed, Batman ran through all the possibilities in his mind: mind control, clone, imposter, a side-effect of the soul removal, blackmail, possibly a hidden agenda for a bigger plan, or, and he was skeptical of this option, she truly had turned to crime. Mind control was at the top of the possibilities, as a large amount of the League, himself included, had been victimized by criminals who used heroes to do their bidding. Clone was also possible, but from her relationship with Jason and knowledge of magic and demons, her past enemies had been of the less scientific variety, unless there was a way to magically create a clone, although she had not been active enough to have been cloned by any known threats. If someone was acting as an imposter, it was a very convincing one, as the resemblance was uncanny. None of the other League women had suffered many side effects after their soul removal, save a lingering chill, and exhaustion, and they remembered nothing of their ordeal. Secretly, however, Batman suspected that Miko had lost her soul on a previous occasion or occasions, given her insight into the ways of Japanese necromancy, as disturbing a notion as that was. Batman remembered all too well when, in the early days of the League, Felix Faust had blackmailed Diana into doing his bidding, so she could very well be being forced into this. Batman acknowledged that Miko was intelligent, but as far as she could tell, she had no grudge or enemy in need of defeating through such deeds, and she did not seem to have the planning skills necessary for such a convoluted plan. To have turned the crime though...why would she have bothered joining the League? Could she have done so with the plan of assessing the League's skills? She could have easily been acting, and J'onn could not read her or Riku's thoughts, so it all could have been a ruse.

Batman had chased her across several rooftops by now, and 'Miko' had shown no signs of tire, and continued to keep up a steady distance from him. She had easily jumped the short distances across alleyways, but suddenly, she simply fell down into the darkened alley. When Batman reached the ledge and looked down, the alleyway was deserted. Batman narrowed his eyes.

After speaking with the police, Batman returned to the roof window, and found a small scrap of black cloth caught on the sill. Plucking it up with a pair of tweezers, he deposited it into an evidence bag, taking note of the white dust and particulates on the scrap.

* * *

"No way!" Flash argued. The original 7 were being briefed on the situation at the museum. Batman had convinced GCPD to keep quiet about the situation until he looked further into it. "It wasn't Miko, she's cool!"

"I'm with him on this." Shayera agreed. "She looked like crap the last I saw her, there's no way she'd be strong enough to go around robbing museums. And if she only joined the League to check out if she could take us or not, she probably wouldn't have let her soul get ripped out or helped save the other women. Less Leaguers equals less enemies to stop her." Shayera didn't know Miko well enough to think about her personality, she was only stating facts.

"She could be under duress." Wonder Woman conceded. "Or perhaps mind control? I'm sure over half the League has been subject to mind control at one point or another."

"Does it really matter now? She'll be here for duty in a few minutes. It's our responsibility to apprehend her." John said impatiently. He himself was skeptical, but his reasoning was that it was unlikely that Miko could have evaded Batman.

"John's right." Superman agreed, though he was also disappointed by this turn of events. Suddenly the teleporter powered up, bringing two familiar figures. "Showtime."

Miko was surprised to see the core members waiting for her when she arrived at the Metro Tower. Did they need her for something? She sensed their disappointment, disbelief, skepticism, and suspicion. What was going on?

"Um, there a reason for the welcoming committee?" Riku questioned, her body tensing, and her tail lashing invisibly behind her.

"Riku, it's best if you leave for now, we have business with Miko." Superman commanded, not wishing to involve the teenager.

"Iie, Supes, I think I'll stick around." Riku said coolly. The Family would disown her if she ditched Kagome when something like this was up.

Superman sighed. Great. "Miko, care to explain how you were seen at the Gotham Natural History Museum?" he asked, his voice solemn.

"N-nani?" Miko gasped.

"The hell?!" sputtered Riku in outrage. "How the frick would she get from Nebraska, which in case you've forgotten is where we live, to Gotham City and back on a waitress' salary? Add that she's sick, and how does any of that work?"

"She also has contacts and resources that we don't know about, or did you buy that leather all on your own?" John pointed out.

"It's not leather." Miko murmered dazedly.

"I'm sorry Miko, but until we get to the bottom of things, we have to keep you in a holding cell." Superman apologized, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, gripping it in a way that showed that he was not adverse to using force to subdue her. Miko only nodded numbly, while Riku bristled when John did the same to her.

Both women were stripped of their weapons, though Kagome had to coax her granddaughter into surrendering her many kunai (much to the discomfort of Superman that a 'child' could have so many knives hidden on their person), before being put in separate holding cells. Riku paced furiously, like a caged animal (which she was), while Miko sat on the small cot, her expression contemplative, and her hands clasped in front of her mouth.

_Who is doing this? How? Why me?_ Those were the question that tormented Kagome. _And to top it off I feel sick, like I did when-_ Kagome's thought broke off as she gasped out loud. _How could I have been so stupid?! It's obvious, but...The League can't handle this._ Kagome heaved a sigh. This was going to be a pain in the ass at best, and would get her killed at worst.

Kagome waited until the guard- currently Shining Knight- switched for Vigilante. As Sir Justin left the room, Kagome stood up, and went to the far corner by the door. This was the one spot that was hardest, but not impossible, to be seen by the guard on the other side of the two-way mirror. Kagome had done a fair amount of experimenting in her time, and after the time she'd been made invisible by Kikyo, she had found she could become invisible for several hours at a time. She became invisible as Vigilante came on duty. Miko could sense his alarm at not seeing her, and immediately threw open the door, where Miko became visible again before stepping behind him, covering his mouth with her hand and pinching his pressure point.

"Gomenasai, Vigilante-san." She murmured, leaning the prone hero against the wall, before hurrying out, vanishing from all senses as she did so.

* * *

"Miko's escaped!" Vigilante shouted, running to the meeting room where the original seven, minus Batman, who had gone to examine some evidence left behind at the robbery, were meeting, now reviewing the security footage of the robbery. Before they could say anything to that, Vigilante hurriedly explained how he had thought she had escaped and had entered only for her to knock him out.

"Still so sure she's innocent?" John asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Wow you're hypocritical," came a voice from the doorway. Leaning against the frame was Riku, who looked to be a mixture of anger, amusement, and boredom, staring at the Leaguers. "One second you think she's so incompetent that she can't be trusted as a hero, now you think she's so skilled that she could hoodwink this entire organization, overpower a fellow Leaguer, and sneak out of the Tower without being seen. Make up your damn mind, Stewart."

"How did you-?" Superman started before the hanyo cut him off.

"How did I get out of that holding cell? I got bored and pitched the cot through the glass," she explained with a bored shrug, oblivious of the incredulous stares met at her claim, "Not my fault that you didn't have someone watching me. I'll pay you back for that later, btw's. After that all I had to do was follow the sounds of panic." Riku rolled her eyes irritably. She tended to get pissy with incompetence, something she'd learned from her grandfather, Sesshomaru, although she was much more vocal in her annoyance than he. She glanced up at the screens playing the footage. Seeing the footage, the bishonen nodded thoughtfully. "Y'know, at a distance, and considering that you haven't known her for that long, I suppose I could understand why you would think that was Miko."

"How is that _not_ her?" John asked, trying to tell what Riku was seeing, or if the kid was covering for Miko.

"This woman is much paler that Miko, her hair is a good six inches longer, and way too straight, because Miko-sama won't even touch a flat iron- claims it'll burn her hair off or something. And this girl is skinnier, like she's just barely getting enough to eat, with smaller boobs than Miko, plus her butt is almost flat." Riku held her hands in front of her chest as if to emphasize her point. "Looking at this chick, I'd believe it was sama if Miko were a few years younger. This gal probably isn't old enough to drink legally in this country."

Riku had barely finished her argument before Batman strode into the room, a pensive expression on his face. Before anyone could ask what he had found, he explained himself.

"The material is leather, found in any department store, and the particulates on it were clay." He rounded on Riku, not even questioning her presence, "There were also traces of human bone in it. Is there any significance to it?"

Riku had gone milk white, and now held a hand to her mouth. "Oh Inari, no."

"What's wrong?" demanded Wonder Woman.

Riku turned to the Leaguers with a grim expression. "_Kikyo."_

* * *

"So, let's see if I've got this right." Huntress spoke to Black Canary through her comm link. "Someone brought back the newbie's incarnation from a past life, using only about half of her soul. Is that it?"

"I guess. You believe in any of that reincarnation crap?" Dinah replied, as they rode their motorcycles through the darkening streets of Metropolis, drawing stares from pedestrians.

"'Crap'? How much magic stuff have we dealt with? Not to mention_ we got our souls ripped out_ just last week. Why dismiss it so easily?"

"Sorry, but you've got to admit it's a bit much to swallow."

"Not really. I've reached this point where I've learned not to be shocked by much. I mean, you know who I'm dating."

"Yeah, the Kook."

"Yo, ladies, eyes on the prize. Gossip later." Riku's voice came in over the comm link. Riku had threatened to castrate Superman until he allowed her to search as well.

"So, kid, you think this reincarnation stuff is real." Dinah questioned the teen.

"Unfortunately. All this resurrection and reincarnation shit makes me real glad that I'm immune to it." Riku grumbled.

"How's that?" Huntress asked.

"As far as anyone knows, it's a human thing."

"What, you don't think you're human?"

This was met with silence, until Riku curtly replied. "Not a matter of thinking, babe."

"Something's going down on the building across the street from the Daily Planet." came Shayera's urgent warning, before hearing what sounded like a Thanagarian curse. "And it sure looks like I'm seeing double down there."

* * *

It had been remarkably easy to find Kikyo. She had hardly been hiding, with shinidimachu soaring through the air, unnoticed by those on the streets. Kagome had remained invisible until she had been able to escape into the alley's, to save her dwindling energy.

Kagome sighed slightly. This had been a potentially stupid move. One of the drawbacks of being a miko in the modern era was the alertness of demons and the rarity of priests and priestesses. To use her power was as good as calling one of the less-than-friendly towards mikos demon lords, and would ensure her death just as surely. Of course, small things, such as invisibility, or even healing, did not flare her aura so much, and went 'under the radar'. Kagome was also quite sure that Kikyo, being undead, also went under the radar, since she'd never been able to sense the undead miko in the past, always relying on Inuyasha's nose or the sight of shinidimachu to find her.

Kagome huffed. She knew she hadn't this much difficulty adjusting to half a soul the first time. Which probably meant Kikyo had taken a much larger portion.

Kagome was pulled from her musings when she noticed what could only be called a swarm of shinidimachu on the roof of a hotel, circling like a cyclone around something Kagome could not see, but could easily guess at.

* * *

_Knew it._ Flash thought smugly._ The Flash intuition has been proven legit. Just wish the circumstances didn't suck so much._ Flash didn't get what was up with John, not really. He seemed to have a hate-on for the new girl. John hadn't even acted like this with Kara, and she wasn't yet 18 when she joined the League.

_Then again,_ Flash mused, _that's not a great comparison. _It had been several months since Supergirl had chosen to remain in the future, and it had been a topic of interest to the media as to where Supergirl vanished to. There was speculation online that she'd either died or been 'de-powered', and that the League was trying to cover it up. Since he had gone to the future with Kara and Green Arrow, John seemed to feel that he was responsible for the whole thing._ Add to the fact that he's been having girl drama...again._ There had been a recent stream of rumors that there may have been something to Hawkman's farfetched claims of he and Shayera being reincarnated lovers, as well as rumors of Green Lantern and Batman meeting a possible future child of John's and Shayera's._ Time-travel. Ugh, makes my head hurt just thinking the words._

When he heard Shayera's warning, Flash pushed his speed and made it to the top on the hotel in a matter of seconds.

* * *

At the top of the hotel, Kagome came face-to-face with her past incarnation. Kikyo faced her with a cold smile.

**"Kikyo, why are you doing this!? What have I done to you that makes you hate me? We were friends when you left this world before!" **Kagome asked, confused by the undead miko's actions, even if that last bit was a bit of a stretch. When Kikyo's clay body succumbed to injuries granted to her years before on Mount Hakurei, she and Kagome had long since put aside any lingering resentment. They had a been civil to the point of being friendly to one another during their encounters.

"**Because you stole everything that should have been mine! The Jewel, Inuyasha, my soul, my face- even my sister!" **With a gesture towards Kagome, several shinidimachu swarmed around Kagome, coiling around her and forcing her to her knees. Striding towards her helpless reincarnation, Kikyo knelt before Kagome, who suddenly felt weaker than before...

* * *

The sight that met Flash was not a pleasant one. Miko, on her knees and only being held up by her doppleganger's hand beneath her jaw, wisps like moonlight being emitted from her mouth and into Kikyo's. Kikyo closed her mouth, licking her lips as if to taste Miko's soul, straightening up and allowing to fall forward. Kikyo caught sight of the horrified Flash and smirked.

Snapping back to his senses, Flash bolted forward to charge down the soul-sucking clay-pot, only to meet something hard, which promptly threw him back several yards, only narrowly avoiding being pitched over the ledge and knocking the wind out of him. He sat back up, intent on rushing past her and then getting her from behind, but she was no longer on the roof, several shinidimachu wrapped around her slim frame, carrying her away. _Where were the others?_ With a quick glance around, Wally's heart sank, seeing what had to be over a hundred shinidimachu swarming the area, subduing the League. Returning his gaze to Kikyo, Flash was just in time to see the dead woman fade from sight, along with the worm-like creatures that surrounding her.

The moment Kikyo disappeared, the shinidimach scattered like dust, each going a different direction. With the sounds of fighting silenced, Flash heard ragged breathing. With a sick jolt, Flash remembered Miko. Running to her side at super speed, Wally found Miko, breathing heavily, as if each intake were exhausting. Gathering the Japanese woman up in his arms, Flash heard soft footsteps. Looking up, he saw that Riku had arrived, eyes fixed on Miko's soulless body, and jaw clenched.

With a deep breath, Riku summed up the situation in four words. "_Son of a bitch_."

* * *

Complete! I'm sorry for taking so long and for leaving off like this, but I'm afraid these little things called "Reality" and "College", interfered in my writing. Give me crack- er, reviews, I meant reviews- and I'll try to hurry my skinny butt up. Sayonara!


End file.
